Gettin' Hitched: The License Debacle

There is one well-known truth about a wedding: something will go wrong. It’s inevitable and everyone knows it. There’s always some sort of issues with candles (they never light, sleeves catch on fire, etc.), people get nervous and say the wrong thing or forget to say it altogether, the flower girl won’t walk down the aisle, etc, etc.

Well, the wedding I took part in recently definitely had its share of insignificant issues, but essentially it was pulled off without a hitch (no sleeves on fire or fainting groomsmen). At least, that’s what most people would have thought.

Being the maid of honor and having arrived early in the week I was privileged enough to witness the pre-wedding day preparations. One to-do item was getting the marriage license. Now, if you're anything like me you hardly think of the license as part of the preparation. After all, it's just a piece of paper with 5 signatures and tells the government that your marital status is now "married". Before last week I would never have guessed that a marriage license could make so much trouble, being the piece of paper that it is.

Erica, the bride, is all set to head into City Hall and get that license.

Erica and her mom charge up the steps.

We bounced into the county clerks office, a bit excited because a license in hand means that the wedding is really and truly happening. I brought out the camera to document this happy moment.

Unfortunately I may have pulled the camera out a bit too early.

The picture above was snapped 45 seconds before the keeper of the records (official title: county clerk) unfeeling declared, "I can tell you right now this isn't going to work." An awkward and slightly astonished pause followed. Did she really just say what I think she said? And with absolutely no compassion for a bride glowing with anticipation of nuptial bliss?

"This birth certificate is void because it's laminated." I'm fairly sure a heard a heart or two thud loudly and stop. I'll spare you all the details and grief of the ensuing discussion, but it turns out that the groom's birth certificate, issued and laminated by the county in Indiana, was void thanks to a new law that went into effect in January. The keeper of records declined to give us any such explanation and would only declare the whole thing impossible. And all without any feeling of sympathy, empathy, humanity, nothin'.

The next step was to figure out how to get the certificate from Indianapolis while the groom was in Kentucky, his family in Nebraska, and Erica in Wisconsin. Again, I'll skip a few details. After quite a number of phone calls, significant amounts of stress, and lack of sleep on the groom's part the birth certificates (two in number --- just to be sure!) were safely hand delivered.

A sigh of relief was shared by all.

Take 2: Getting the Marriage License

We headed back to the county clerk's office and were met by a much kinder clerk, who okayed all the paperwork and printed out the paper with snappy efficiency.

Erica, much relieved and grateful, is a glowing bride once again.

Now all we need is the groom's signature and they're legally hitched!

So, what lessons have we learned from this?

1. A marriage license actually takes time and effort to procure.

2. The keepers of records are mean. Bring cookies next time.

3. Always remember who your friends are, you never know when you'll need to call in a favor.

4. Remember that 14 years from now it'll make a great story to tell the youngin's.

For more details in regard to the wedding, the bride, etc., please visit: jennaseverythingblog.wordpress.com